Treated Like a Bug: The Similarities Between the Lives of Franz Kafka and The Metamorphosis's Gregor Samsa

Treated Like a Bug

The Similarities Between The Lives of Franz Kafka and The Metamorphosis's Gregor Samsa

Top: A cartoon image of the transformed Gregor.  Image from Kafkaesque World.

Above: Franz Kafka.  Image from A Focus on Franz Kafka: Elana Wolff's "Metamorphoses" published by EVENT Magazine, "Two Short Talks by Anne Carson" upcoming on Brick Books.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of Kafka’s writing is the extent to which the experiences of the characters in his works reflect his own experiences.  In fact, so many parallels exist between his life and those of certain characters in his works that, according to GradeSaver’s “Biography of Franz Kafka”: “Kafka’s biography reads almost like a critical analysis of his work,” (classicnote.com).  One work to which this description applies is the novella The Metamorphosis.  Although the novella revolves around an implausible event—the transformation of the main character, Gregor Samsa, into an insect—many similarities exist between the lives of Kafka and Samsa.  Not only were the occupational and familial circumstances of the two similar, both struggled with ill health and the inability to form lasting relationships with women.  The similarities between the lives of the two indicate that, like the main character in The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka was regarded as a bug, both by himself and by others.

Interactions With Family Members

The events of The Metamorphosis revolve around the transformation of Gregor Samsa, a young traveling salesman, into an insect.  Samsa’s transformation compels the members of his family to undergo their own transformations: his father, who had previously been too depressed to work, is forced to take a job as a messenger, which temporarily increases his vitality; his mother is compelled to take a job as a seamstress; and his younger sister, Grete, matures as a result of taking a job as a sales clerk and beginning to study French and shorthand.  Before his transformation, Samsa had the sole wage earner in his family; the fact that the family initially employs a cook and a separate servant girl indicate that his job affords his family a comfortable existence.  However, the only family member to whom Samsa is genuinely loyal is Grete.  Grete initially reciprocates this loyalty, wholeheartedly caring for him even after his transformation.  The dedicated manner in which Grete cares for her Samsa is demonstrated by her response to the observation that he has not eaten any of the food that she had brought him:

“But his sister at once noticed, with surprise, that the basin was still full, except for a little milk that had been spilt all around it, she lifted it immediately, not with her bare hands, true, but with a cloth and carried it away.  Gregor was wildly curious to know what she would bring instead, and made various speculations about it.  Yet what she actually did next, in the goodness of her heart, he could never have guessed at.  To find out what he liked she brought him a whole selection of food, all set on an old newspaper.  There were old, half-decayed vegetables, bones from last night’s supper covered with a white sauce that had thickened; some raisins and almonds; a piece of cheese that Gregor would have called uneatable two days ago; a dry roll of bread, a buttered roll, and a roll both buttered and salted,” (Kafka 282).

When Grete discovers that Samsa does not like the food that she had brought him, she brings him a vast assortment of food in order to assess his preferences.  Her actions indicate that she cares for him out of a genuine desire to aid him (rather than because of an obligation to do so).  As the novella progresses, however, Grete begins to view her brother as a liability, eventually advocating for abandoning him after he disturbs the lodgers to whom they are subleasing a room:

“‘We must try to get rid of it,’ his sister now said explicitly to her father, since her mother was coughing too much to hear a word, ‘it will be the death of both of us, I can see that coming.  When one has to work as hard as we do, all of us, one can’t stand this continual torment at home on top of it.  At least I can’t stand it any longer.’  And she burst into such a passion of sobbing that her tears dropped on her mother’s face, where she wiped them off mechanically,” (Kafka, 298).

Grete views Samsa as more of a burden than a brother; not only does she feel that her family must rid itself of him, she refers to him as it.  She regards Samsa in this way because the obligations of her job and studies prevent her from caring for him, and because his disturbance of the lodgers jeopardizes one of the family’s sources of income.  Samsa’s relationship with his father is another important facet of the novella, as the former is in many ways a victim of the latter.  The father has not worked since his business failed five years prior to the events of the novella, instead relying on his son for financial support.  Whereas Samsa had set his alarm for four o’clock in the morning on the eve of his metamorphosis (Kafka 272), his father “[lingers his breakfast] out for hours over various newspapers,” (Kafka 278).  This juxtaposition reinforces the disparity between Samsa’s contributions to his family and those of his father.  After Samsa’s transformation, the father becomes disconcerted by the loss of his source of income and begins to drive his son back to his room:

“Pitilessly Gregor’s father drove him back, hissing and crying ‘Shoo!’ like a savage…If [Gregor] only had a chance to turn round he could get back to his room at once, but he was afraid of exasperating his father by the slowness of such a rotation and at any moment the stick in his father’s hand might hit him a fatal blow on the back or on the head…Perhaps his father noticed his good intentions, for he did not interfere except every now and then to help him in the manoeuvre from a distance with the point of the stick.  If only he would have stopped making that unbearable hissing noise!  It made Gregor quite lose his head.  He had turned almost completely round when the hissing noise so distracted him that he even turned a little the wrong way again.  But when at last his head was fortunately right in front of the doorway it appeared that his body was too broad to get through the opening.  His father, of course in his present mood was far from thinking of such a thing as opening the other half of the door, to let Gregor have enough space.  He had merely the fixed idea of driving Gregor back into his room as quickly as possible,” (Kafka 280).

As Samsa’s father drives his son back into his room, he hisses and seems to disregard his inability to fit through the doorway.  His actions establish that he is easily angered and somewhat simpleminded.  Samsa’s transformation eventually compels his father to take a job as a messenger.  This job temporarily revitalizes him, as demonstrated when Samsa contrasts his newfound livelihood with his former physical condition:

“And yet, and yet, could that be his father?  The man who used to lie wearily sunk in bed whenever Gregor set out on a business journey; who welcomed him back of an evening lying in a long chair in a dressing gown; who could not really rise to his feet but only lifted his arms in greeting, and on the rare occasions when he did go out with his family, on one or two Sundays a year and on high holidays, walked between Gregor and his mother, who were slow walkers anyhow, even more slowly than they did, muffled in his old greatcoat, shuffling laboriously forward with the help of his crook-handled stick which he set down most cautiously at every step and, whenever he wanted to say anything, nearly always came to a full stop and gathered his escort around him?  Now he was standing there in fine shape; dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, such as bank messengers wear; his strong double chin bulged over the stiff high collar of his jacket; from under his bushy eyebrows his black eyes darted fresh and penetrating glances; his onetime tangled white hair had been combed flat on either side of a shining and carefully exact parting.  He pitched his cap, which bore a gold monogram, probably the badge of some bank, in a wide sweep across the whole room on to a sofa and with the tail-ends of his jacket thrown back, his hands in his trouser pockets, advanced with a grim visage towards Gregor,” (Kafka 291).

Previously, the father had been lethargic and sickly in his appearance and behaviors; it is likely that he had suffered from depression instigated by the failure of his business.  Now that he has taken a job, both his appearance and vitality have improved.  His attitude towards his son, however, has not changed; having been notified that Samsa has left his room, the father chases him around the living room and bombards him with apples.  The father eventually returns to his former depressed state; he never removes his uniform and falls asleep in his armchair after his family eats supper.  In spite of his strained relationships with his father and his sister, Samsa remains loyal to his family until he dies.  As he lies dying, alone in his room, he “thought of his family with tenderness and love,” (Kafka 300) and reflects on his banishment to his room: “The decision that he must disappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister, if that were possible,” (Kafka 300).  As he lies dying, Samsa feels love for his family and believes that his death is in their interests.  These sentiments demonstrate the extent of his familial loyalty and as such add an element of poignancy to his death.

Franz Kafka’s work and home lives were quite similar to those of Samsa.  Kafka was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia to a successful Jewish couple; as he was a secular Jew in a city in which Jews were alienated, he was an outcast in both his city and his religious community.  His older brother died at war, forcing him to assume his responsibilities as the oldest sibling; Kafka also had three sisters, but was only close with one of them, Ottilia (classicnote.com).  As had previously been the case the case with Mr. Samsa, Kafka’s father was a business owner.  Like Mr. Samsa, he was also brash and somewhat oppressive of his son.  In his “Letter to his Father,” Kafka reflects on his relationship with his father, recounting scenes in which his father abused him.  In one such scene, Kafka remembers having annoyed his father and being sent outside (Fischer).  It is worth noting that he uses the German word “winseln” to describe his crying, as this term connotes that he is insignificant and pitiable (Fischer).  Kafka’s father compelled him to study law, and Kafka received his doctorate in this field in 1906.  Upon graduating, he took a job as a legal clerk, but found this job unfulfilling and quit in 1908.  He then began to work as a traveling salesman for an insurance company against his father’s wishes.  Although this stands in contrast to Samsa’s father’s opinion regarding his son’s job, both fathers have interests that conflict with those of their sons.  This conflict of interest is one of the many similarities between the work and home lives of Gregor Samsa and Franz Kafka.

Relationships With Women

Another similarity that the two share is the nature of their interactions—or lack thereof—with women; although both had lovers at various times, neither was able to form a permanent, committed relationship with a woman.  In addition, the romantic lives of both were influenced by their fathers in some way.  Samsa’s loneliness is established when his room is described at the beginning of the novella; among its only furnishings are “the picture which he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and put into a pretty gilt frame.  It showed a lady, with a fur cap on and a fur stole, sitting upright and holding out to the spectator a huge fur muff into which the whole of her forearm had vanished,” (Kafka 271).  The fact that this picture depicts a model in a magazine—and not a woman whom Samsa has actually known—indicates that Samsa has not had any committed relationships with women.  This indication is confirmed when Samsa contemplates the advantages and disadvantages of his job, including “‘casual acquaintances that are always new and never become intimate friends,’” (Kafka 271).  The nature of Samsa’s job prevents him from entering committed relationships with women.  However, he appears to have had various lovers during his travels, as evidenced when he reflects on various aspects of his former job, including “a chambermaid in one of the rural hotels, a sweet but fleeting memory, a cashier in a milliner’s shop, whom he had wooed earnestly but too slowly,” (Kafka 293).  Samsa appears to have had several affairs during his travels.  However, he has bittersweet memories of all of these affairs because of their temporary nature.  As the refusal of Samsa’s father to find work compelled him to take this job, the father could be regarded as influencing the nature of his relationships.

As is the case with Samsa, Kafka entered no relationships of note before writing The Metamorphosis.  In 1912, however, the year in which the novella was published, he met Felice Bauer, with whom he was engaged and disengaged twice in the next five years; he entered a relationship with Grete Bloch during the time between these engagements, fathering a child about whom he never knew with her (classicnote.com).  Towards the end of his life, he cohabited and planned to elope with a woman named Dora Dymant.  Their relationship, however, ended when Kafka’s tuberculosis worsened, forcing him to return to Prague for treatment.  Many of Kafka’s relationships were unsound because of his conflicting attitudes about marriage.  Kafka believed strongly in the institution of marriage and felt a need to escape the influence of his father (classicnote.com).  However, he feared the prospect of marriage because it would require him to sacrifice time that he could have otherwise spent writing (Fischer).  These conflicting attitudes about marriage hindered Kafka’s ability to enter committed, long-term relationships with women.

Illness

Many scholars have asserted that Gregor Samsa’s transformation into an insect is not literal, but rather representative of a battle with an illness.  Whether or not this was Kafka’s intention, Samsa’s condition deteriorates as the novella progresses.  The deterioration in his condition begins with his transformation into an insect.  Shortly after his transformation, he responds to his mother in a muddled, almost inhuman voice (Kafka 272).  In Chapter 2, he stops speaking and begins to lose his appetite.  By the beginning of Chapter 3, “hardly slept at all by night or by day,” (Kafka 293) and “was now eating hardly anything,” (Kafka 295).  In addition, “it took [Samsa] long, long minutes to creep across his room like an old invalid—there was no question now of climbing up the wall,” (Kafka 292).  By the time of his death, he “was now unable to stir a limb,” (Kafka 300) and “his whole body was aching,” (Kafka 300).  Samsa’s death serves as the culmination of the decline which began with his transformation into a bug.

Kafka, whose health issues began during his childhood, suffered from “insomnia, recurring coughs, night sweats, and similar difficulties,” (Batson) throughout his life.  He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1917, but likely suffered from this disease for some time prior to his diagnosis, as there had previously been no means of identifying the disease (Batson).  His illness forced him to spend much time in sanitariums, where he experienced indignity and isolation (Batson). His tuberculosis forced him to retire from his job in 1922, and he died two years later, completing a decline similar to that of Gregor Samsa in a manner similar to that character’s death.

Conclusion

Perhaps the adjective that most accurately describes Kafka’s life is lonely.  As a secular, German-speaking Jew in a Czech city, Kafka was regarded as an outsider in both his city and his religious community.  He was close with only one of his four siblings, and had a particularly hostile relationship with his father.  He entered many failed relationships with women and spent his life plagued by illness, eventually dying alone in a sanitarium.  Many of his works reflect his own experiences, one such work being The Metamorphosis.  As was the case with Kafka, the main character in that novella, Gregor Samsa, works as a traveling salesman and struggles with illness and flawed relationships, both with members of his family and with women.  Even the most improbable event of the story—Samsa’s transformation into a bug—reflects the manner in which Kafka regarded himself and was regarded by others: lowly, repulsive, and little more significant than a bug.

Works Cited

Batson, Robbie.  “Kafka-Samsa.  Reality Through Symbolism.”  The Kafka Project.  n.p., n.d., Web.  14 Jan. 2015.  http://www.kafka.org.

“Biography of Franz Kafka (1883-1924).  GradeSaver.  n.p., n.d., Web.  5 Jan. 2015.  http://www.classicnote.com.

Fischer, Christian.  “Writing the Unwritable-Exploring the Differend in Kafkas’s Letter to His Father.”  The Kafka Project.  n.p., n.d., Web.  14 Jan. 2015.  http://www.kafka.org/.

Kafka, Franz.  “Metamorphosis.”  The Norton Introduction to the Short Novel.  Ed.  Jerome Beaty.  New York: W.W.  Norton & Company, 1987.  269-303.